Campfire Tales
by Starsinger
Summary: What happens when Scott runs a Wildlife Sanctuary and is friends with Logan? One of Kitty's campfire fairy tales, of course! Now complete


Fireside Chats 

by Starsinger

This is inspired by one of my favorite comics "The Adventures of Lockheed and His Pet Girl Kitty". Oh, no plans for Banff dolls in this one! Nope, don't own the X-Men, please don't sue.

Scott turned toward the bonfire, they hadn't done this in, okay, he couldn't remember the last time they did this, but Kitty and Peter weren't on speaking terms at that time. Peter might be wishing the same thing was happening now, "Peter, you want me, to sit on the ground. HOW do you propose I get back up?!" Scott chuckled, at seven months pregnant, everyone would have figured that her hormones would be playing havok, only complaint she'd had, other than disappearing feet, was that it was too warm.

"Oof," came the noise as Kitty ended up on the ground. Scott winced, he didn't have a clue as to how Peter planned to get her back up. He sighed, looking to the empty spot next to him wishing she were there. He folded his legs up under him as Logan, Beast, Kurt, Rachel, and the current student population joined them, maybe Rachel would lend him a "hand".

"Mrrowww?" he looked over as Sheridan and Ivanova came over, making themselves absolute nuisances. He had to admit they had grown on him.

"Marshmallows!!!" came the gleeful call as the plastic bags were pulled open. Scott sighed, the kids were not going to bed easily tonight.

"Pickles and ice cream? Come on Kit, can't you think of something better to crave?" came another call, sounding suspiciously like Rachel.

"Hey, that's not a stick!" followed by a shriek, turned out to be a grass snake, scary in the dark, but extremely harmless, unless you're a mouse.

"I'll be a side-kick to your hero anyday, big guy," came a murmurred reply, he was hoping it was from Kitty, not one of the kids.

Scott cleared his throat, "In the past, we've used bonfires to help people come together and feel better about events in the recent past." Looking pointedly at Kitty, "Do you think you can come up with another good story?"

"Me?" she asked, startled. "Ilyana was the last one to tell a good story..."

"I'll go first," Logan volunteered.

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Logan Presents:

The Adventures of Peter and the Marshmallow Monster

"He knew he shouldn't have gone out, but her cravings kept driving him on..."

"Hey, am I going to be the butt everyone's jokes tonight?" a voice sounded plaintively from the dark.

"Yeah, pretty much," came Logan's reply as laughter reverberated around him. "Then, he heard it, a sliding thump, and an indistinct voice saying MMMMMMM, MMMMMMMM."

Peter looked around him, it was bigger than he was, and was leaving white goo all over the sidewalk. His pace quickened as did the sliding pace of the thing behind him, all the while moaning a word he couldn't quite make out. Finally, the monster cornered him in an alley, and Peter made out his word, "Mmmmmarshmalloooooowwwwwwsssss!!!!!!!!"

"With a squeak, Peter threw the package of marshmallows into the air and ran passed the monster, not stopping til he got home. Of the marshmallow, no one really knows, all they found was the melted plastic wrapper."

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Laughter resounded around the bonfire, Peter blushed, some of Kitty's cravings were becoming infamous. He looked down and discovered that she had fallen asleep, he nudged her. "Hey, why don't you tell one of your famous stories, Katya? You're really the best." Everyone started begging, she looked around thinking.

"All right, you asked for it."

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"The Old Adventures of New Scott Summers"

Any references to people currently living is entirely intentional.

Scott was lost, he and his friends had ventured into the woods outside his home looking for his dog, Sheridan. "Sheridan, here boy," he called, he heard his friends, Peter and Logan in the distance calling out as well. It was getting dark, they shouldn't be out much longer. Soon, he heard the howl of the dog, he went running. the scene he came upon was surreal, a large animal lay on the ground in front of him. It was clearly hurt. He had never seen one of these animals before, but the dog was nudging it, trying to get it to wake up.

He looked over the animal and realized it had a broken leg. The animal was too big for him to carry, so he did his best to set the leg and put it in a splint. The poor thing moaned as it woke up. It tried to scramble up and get away, frightened, and realized it couldn't move sat back down. It stared at Scott, eyes weary, until he heard another voice, "I think it's hungry," he looked up and found Logan standing behind him.

Scott dove into his bacpack and brought out a sanwich his mother had packed for him. Breaking off a piece he put it in his mouth and ate it, holding out the rest of the sandwich for the animal. It grabbed it and wolfed down the sandwich hungrily. Peter had happened on the scene as well and reached into his own pack to get out his sandwich, "You know what this is?" he asked, excitedly, "Sasquatch, a Big Foot!"

"A young one too, from the looks of him," Logan commented. "Wonder where his family is?"

"Don't know," Scott said. "I need to get back, Mom will get worried if I'm gone past dark," he looked at his friends, "we can't tell grown-ups about this, you know what they'll do to him." They nodded agreement, and agreed to meet back here the next day.

The long summer was taken up by caring for the young Big Foot that they came to name Bubba, he looked like a Bubba. They brought him food, and helped him move around. In return, he showed the best places for fishing and where to find shelter if they were ever caught out during the night. Then, one day, at the end of summer, he was gone. Larger footprints told that his family had come and gotten him, and the splint lay on the ground. The friends stared at the spot, and smiled, their friend was home, and so, they returned to their homes, never to speak of it again, at least they thought.

The story trailed off and soft snoring could be heard as the story-teller fell asleep, Peter smiled apologetically, "She's been doing this a lot the last month, Katya, sweetheart, wake-up, you can't fall asleep in the middle of a story you're telling." She groaned before taking up the story where it had left off.

The three boys grew into fine young men. Logan joined the Army and went into the Special Forces. After four years service he went into the National Guard and taught AJROTC at the local high school. Peter went to USC where he received a Master's Degree in Art and Art Appreciation with a minor in Architecture, helping design buildings and interiors all over the world. He met and married his wife, Kitty of course, while still in college. Her specialty allowed her to work from home running a computer consulting business, much sought after by large and small businesses alike.

Scott stayed in Colorado, attending college in Denver and getting a degree in Veterinary Medicine with intense study in primate physiology. When his parents retired to Florida they left him the house overlooking the woods, he built a wildlife sanctuary there, caring for sick and injured animals, as well as exotics who could never be released into the wild. His wife, Jean, had died of cancer four years before, but not before giving birth to a beautiful baby girl, Rachel. He also was the consulting vet at the local Zoo.

The sanctuary, named Big Foot Sanctuary, was set across twenty acres of Colorado woodlands with a stream running through it. It currently housed two Bald Eagles, a Timber Wolf pack comprised of nine individuals, five Mountain Lions, two Black bears, and various monkeys and other wild cats such as Leopards, Lions, and Tigers that would never be released in North America. In addition he was currently raising several birds, raccoons, deer, and other native species that would be released back into the wild. He also had three dogs and two cats in his domestic household, so many people said he had a virtual menagerie. It was the encounter with the young Sasquatch that had started it all.

As he wandered out into the yard he saw two of his interns, Hisako Ichika and Derek Shaw, standing talking to his colleagues, Dr Emma Frost and Dr Kurt Wagner. Kitty arched an eyebrow at him, "What you thought I'd actually leave you out of this one, Fuzzy Elf? You've managed to star in every single story I've told."

Kurt coughed in embarrassment as laughter went round the campfire.

"Poachers," came the verdict from Dr Frost's mouth. The two interns held nooses, bear traps, and various other implements to capture animals illegally in the forest. She looked up as Scott approached, "These were found on the trails where we normally release animals," she told him. His stomach tightened, three deer and two bears were due for release in a fortnight.

"Did you call the rangers?" he asked, a national park hugged the property.

"Yeah," Kurt replied, "they thanked us and told us they'll do what they can."

"Which means they'll do nothing," Hisako muttered as she wandered off to put the newest traps into storage for eventual destruction.

They met back in the yard, Derek asked, "How do we know those aren't the traps the Rangers put out for the rogue bear?" Rogue bear, words they dreaded. A bear was out there killing and eating people, five people had been killed in the past three weeks and the search had turned desperate. Everyone at the sanctuary had taken to carrying rifles on and off the property.

"Because Rangers use humane traps, designed to trap an animal but not kill it. Those bear traps snap closed, breaking the bear's leg. The nooses get around an animals neck and strangles it, if it's unlucky enough to get it somewhere else, they starve to death," a small voice sounded from behind them. Seven year old Rachel carried a backpack, ready to catch the bus to school.

Scott smiled down at his little girl, she reminded him so much of her mother...

The campfire popped, startling everyone as Kitty wandered back into dream land, "Kitty, wake up." Rachel said

"Huh? What?" Kitty asked, jerking back awake.

Scott walked over with a bottle of water, "We can't give you caffeine, so here." She thanked him as she took a swig of water.

Scott saw Rachel off to school and climbed into the truck, Emma climbing in beside him. They went out to the perimeter of the sanctuary, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. They ran into several local hunters and one ranger, telling all of them to keep an eye out for poachers. Stevie Hunter, who also was Rachel's dance teacher, nodded her head. "I'd heard there was trouble, but I just thought it was a bear."

The news got worse three days later when Stevie brought in a radio tracking collar and three brown bear cubs. "I'm sorry, Scott. I didn't find the mother, but the amount of blood, the trap (yes, it's in the truck, they had reset it, and I took care of that), told me that I couldn't leave these three alone."

Scott sighed, "If they'd left the collar on, I would've been able to track them," motioning Stevie to put the crate containing the cubs in a pen in a nearby corner. He then entered the serial number of the collar into the computer, pulling up the information on the mother bear. "Oh boy, the National Park Service is not going to like this at all. This is one of the bears relocated from the Appalachians to repopulate the brown bears here in the Rockies. Emma, get on the horn to the park, they need to know about this." He picked up his rifle and headed out the door, "I'm going hunting."

He stalked the perimeter and found what he was looking for. Four men, all with guns aimed at a bear sow and her cubs. He knew it was foolish, but he had to give it a try. "All right," he said, gun aimed at the nearest poacher, "put the guns down and I might pretend I never found you." Their guns clattered to the ground and he went over and picked them up. "So, what made you boys think a sow with cubs would be good hunting?" he asked as the men turned around.

"We heard there was a rogue bear," one of them answered.

"To begin with, the only reason a sow attacks is because she feels her cubs are being threatened. Rogues are always male. And don't make me point out why that's not a male bear." Nervous laughter followed that statement. "Now, get out of here before I change my mind and take you down to the Ranger's station."

He wound down that night, talking to Emma. "Those hunters were lucky you weren't a Ranger," Emma chuckled. "You want the rest of the bad news?" Scott nodded and sighed, "Hisako caught some men taking pot shots at the animals here, they were off property, but the animals weren't. Then they told her that this wouldn't be private property much longer and all the lovely animals would be theirs to hunt. To top it off, Derek swears he ran into a Big Foot today, only it kept trying to say something."

Scott shot straight up in his chair, the drink that Emma had just handed him forgotten, "What, what did he say?"

Emma looked at him curiously, "Bubba, that's what Derek thought he said, Bubba."

Scott rose from his chair and walked to the computer sitting in the corner, "I'm going to need more help than we have, and I know just where to find it." As Emma watched he pulled two e-mail addresses into a message that read simply, "Bubba."

Three days later three trucks pulled into the sanctuary. As they disgorged their occupants, Scott and Rachel emerged from the house, a broad grin on his face, "Peter, Logan, good to see you again." He smiled at Peter's wife, "Good to see you too, Kitty, who's this?" he asked as another woman approached.

"You can't possibly have forgotten me, Scott. We grew up two miles from each other." She replied.

"Callie? Callie Fullerton?" Indeed they did grow up together, she had grown from a gawky teenager to a willowy adult. Curly dark brown hair and green eyes topped off a slender form. She carried a rifle under one arm and a shoulder holster over the other.

"National Park Service was sending me out here after the reports of the rogue bear popped up, then Peter told me they were coming your way, so I couldn't resist joining. Hey, Logan," she greeted the second man with a hug.

"Hey Scott," Logan said, greeting him with a handshake. "You and Emma still an item?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes, they are!" a small voice stated from behind them. "And I still don't like it!"

Scott sighed and started toward the young girl, "No, let me take care of this," Kitty said. "I think this might be something that girls need to discuss." Kitty reached out her hand to Rachel, Callie followed, curiously. They sat down on a bench nearby, "What's this, Red? Don't you want your Daddy to be happy?" she asked, brushing the red hair out of the girl's eyes.

"It's not that, Aunt Kitty," Rachel replied, shaking her head. "I don't trust her. She has cold eyes, and I saw her talking to some strange men. They looked like hunters, but they were carrying bad traps."

Callie and Kitty looked at each other, Callie leaned forward, "Rachel, keep an eye out for those men for us, okay? I'll keep an eye on Dr Frost."

Rachel suddenly reached out and wrapped her arms around Callie's neck, "I like you, would you come and date my Dad?"

Callie chuckled, "Well, my job is transferring me out here. Let's see what happens, okay?" The girl nodded solemnly, then headed back to the house. "Well, that was an interesting bit of news," Callie muttered.

"Children are so much more perceptive than adults, sometimes. Let's not say anything to Scott about this, all right?" The two women nodded as they headed back up to the men. Four people had joined the group and as Scott introduced them, Kitty immediately noticed what Rachel had told them about Emma, her eyes were indeed cold.

"All right, Logan go with Kurt, I'll go with Derek, Peter go with Hisako, and Kitty go with Callie, Emma, stay here on the radio in case something happens. Remember, we're coordinating this with both rangers and several hunters in the area, so keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious. Also, Sows have just emerged from hibernation with their cubs, so be very careful what you're aiming at, it might just be a mother feeling threatened. All else fails, climb a tree, don't play dead, that's the worse thing you can do with a rogue."

For three days nothing happened. Well, nothing worse than Hisako being treed by a moose. Each night they came home and debriefed. Kitty and Callie watched Emma closely and finally decided to approach Scott on the third night. "Listen Scott, how well do you know Emma?" Kitty asked.

"We met ten years ago at a veterinary convention. She came to work here after Jean died. This is about Rachel, isn't it?"

"Scott, she loves you, and, while she doesn't want you to be alone, she doesn't like Dr Frost," Kitty replied with a sigh. "I'll see you in the morning," she murmurred as she headed to the room she shared with Peter. Scott and Callie stayed up talking well into the night.

The next day they found the bear. Callie and Kitty heard the screams of campers and roars of a bear and went running. They burst onto the scene as the bear was mauling the man who was writhing under the bear's attack, a woman and child had managed to climb a tree. Both women took careful aim at the bear and shot it through the head. It was finally dead. They pulled the man out from under the carcass and called for a ranger, a camper was injured and needed immediate attention.

Logan and Kurt found a broken bear trap and a trail of blood. They followed into a cave and found a young Sasquatch huddled over a tiny bundle. She was dead, leg neatly snapped in two by the the trap. Logan gently took the baby from her and looked around, her mate was nowhere to be found and they couldn't leave the infant there. Kurt removed his shirt and they bundled the youngster into it and radioed Scott, "Hey, Scott, we just found another Sasquatch, dead with an infant. I'm bringing the infant back to the sanctuary."

"I'm headed back there, too. A ranger passing through found the house in a shambles and Rachel and Emma missing. One of the dogs is dead too."

Logan sighed, "Meet'cha there, bud."

As they approached the property two things became apparent. The yard and house were a mess, and a handsome woman with white hair was talking to a ranger. "Any sign of them?" Scott asked the ranger, frantically.

"No, but I think you might find this interesting, Dr. Summers. Meet Dr Frost." Ice blue eyes met his brown ones as he smiled.

"Nice to meet you Dr. Frost..." his voice trailed off as the information hit him. "Emma Frost?"

"Yes, Dr Summers, the woman working for you is an imposter," he flinched at this information.

"Well, that would fit what Rachel told us when we got here," Kitty replied, coming down the road. "She told us she saw Emma talking with a couple of strange men, and they had 'bad traps'."

"I've been working with the FBI the last few months, trying to hunt this woman down. She's ruined everything I've worked so hard to build. I've only just gotten my license back, and now I'm here to help get her..." her voice trailed off as a roar was heard outside the compound.

"Hisako, find some human formula and see if you can get the infant to feed," Scott said hurriedly as he took off, the rest following. They split off into small groups again as soon as they hit the woods, Emma staying with Peter. Soon, Kitty and Callie happened upon a clearing, five men and a woman "Dr Frost" lay scattered around. None were dead, but they all needed help. Kitty called Scott and told him that they were continuing up the trail hoping to find Rachel alive. They soon heard Rachel's voice talking very calmly to somone.

"Look, I know you're family's hurt, but just go to my Dad, he'll take care of them," both of them looked up as the women came into view. "Mommy!" Rachel cried, running over to Callie, who swept her up in her arms.

Kitty approached the Sasquatch, "Bubba?" He looked up. "We found a female in baby in a cave, dead. The baby is still alive," she told him gently. "Come on," she took his hand and the four of them started back to the compound. Callie called Scott and told him they had found Rachel and she was fine.

Bubba stared at the infant in Hisako's arms and looked away, then he motioned that the infant should stay here. "I don't think he can care for it, right now," Scott told the others as their friend left the yard. "He'll come back when it doesn't need its mother for food," he said softly, looking at his own child, "his did." He watched as the women entered the house, starting to put things back in order.

Scott approached Dr Frost, "I'm sorry about what happened. If it helps, she was a good and trusted colleague."

Emma grimmaced, "My specialty isn't evern Veterinary Medicine, it's Psychology. Thank you, Dr Summers," she walked out the gate without a second glance.

He looked down at the serious blue eyes of his daughter, "And what have we learned by this situation?" she asked, seriously.

"Always trust Rachel, she loves me and knows what's best for me," he replied. "When they're seven they know it all," he replied as he picked her up and carried her into the house.

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"Years later, when Scott and Callie finally married, Kitty commented she didn't know who was happier, Scott or Rachel," Kitty concluded, the story coming to a happy conclusion.

"Wow," came a comment, "she should start writing stories!"

Kitty laughed, "All right, everyone, time for bed, you have class tomorrow, remember?" a groan answered the statement. "Peter, you were a happy participant getting me into this situation, the least you can do is help me up."

Laughter greeted this statemtment as Logan and Hank came over to pull as Peter pushed her onto her feet. Kitty looked at Rachel and Scott, who stared across the fire at each other and told the men to continue on, that she'd catch up with them. "Jean wouldn't want you two to fight like this." Rachel looked up at her, Scott was startled out of his reverie.

"Your stories always have to say something, don't they?" Scott muttered. Kitty walked over to him, and he looked up at her and sighed. "You're right," he breathed as Rachel came and sat next to him. "May I?" he asked, at Kitty's nod he laid his hand on her belly feeling the babies move. Rachel's hand joined his in silent communion with new life.

"I'll leave you two alone," Kitty murmurred, leaving the pair sitting by the fire, contemplating what could have been.

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I'd like to thank George for the Marshmallow Monster, Michael for giving me the Urban Myth that led to Kitty's story, Madripoor Rose, Amokitty, and Closer 2 Myself for all the helful advice for this fic. Believe it or not, Amokitty, your comments made me dance around, that's exactly the feeling I was going for with this fic. Done, hope you enjoy it. Anyone who might like to contemplate what the following conversation might be, go right ahead and have fun!


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